You guys feel as though it has been a good hour or more of walking. Was the medical bay really so far from the place you are suppose to meet?

Force Sensitive Players Only:

As you traverse you FEEL a strong stiring of the force. It swirls about in a controlled fashion. In no small amount either. Someone with tremendous force ability is using it extensively somewhere up ahead.

"I guess she is training." Tavoes comments. You are now at a door somewhere in the rear of the ship. You hear the humming the the engines in the dustancs. Tavoes opens the door and leads you through. Once in the room you hear the sounds of what seem like battle. Many blasters are being fired rapidly at the same time. The room has a bed and dresser and a few other homey pieces of furniture. On the far wall there is a large window and just beyond is some kind of training room. The sounds of battle, heavily muffled as it is, are coming from the other side.

In the room beyond you see what appears to be twenty......no make that nineteen.....no make that eighteen. Oh for Pete's sake! There are a lot of battle droids and they are dropping like flies. They're target? Mirianna Palpatine. She is under heavy fire from thr soldier droids but she is effortlessly deflecting their shots with her vibrant blue lightsaber. None of you have ever seen a live jedi in action. She is under the worst conditions and holding her own.

Players who are Force Sensitive only:

Her command of the force appears as comrades at her side helping to defend against all sides and all attackers at once. It is truly an awesome display of skill and power.

Tavoes keys a console next to the window. "Lady Palpatine your guests are here."

She gives a quick glance in your direction. Then with a quick whirl and spread of her arms she unleashes a visible shockwave that smash the remaining droids all over the walls in the training room.

She casually disengages her lightsaber and clips it to her belt. Dawning her cape she heads out to meet you.

She stands before you as she did in the hanger bay with the same stern and authoritative gaze she had then. Only with her recent display of power it holds more meaning. "So. You are the survivors. Introduce yourselves." she commands

Zaelos stops and stares at the vision that is the Empress. Not so much her physical beauty but the whirling flow and eddies of the Force that radiate from her body like she was a miniature sun.

Wishing he had more time to compose himself, he drops to a knee and bows his head in a gesture of respect. After she acknowledges his gesture, he rises to his feet and in a deferential voice responds, "Zaelos Burleon, Empress, of the planet Alpheridies."

The march through the bowels of the ship reminded the Mandolorean of training by his fathers hand, the routine of road-work and discipline to keep at peak conditioning and to honour his ancestors.

Entering the chamber Karval stands to attention, perfectly still as he virtually stares as the Empress a tornado of death goes through her kata of destruction. The precision of each stroke, riposte, parry and deflection astounds him, the graceful form moving with the minimum actions always ready. 'She knows we are here, how could she not. An impressive display.'

Dropping to one knee with a bone shattering crunch at Palpatines approach, he holds his wrists out face up to her. A feudal symbol of his heritage and honour.

"Empress, I am Karval de Longinous. Grand Champion of the Hutt pit of Nar Shadda. An honour and pleasure to serve, ma'am." He throws out his hollow titles, knowing how meaningless they are to her; but rigidly following the protocols of his ambassadorial parents.

Watching the mock battle with respect, Nichos bows respectfully before the empress before speaking politely. "Nichos Vilpedric Hormsteen, originally of Chiss, but of late, a traveler seeking someone capable of restoring the order the universe desires. I believe that I have finally reached the end of that search."

Okay those of you who that qualified for info got private messages. Note, only results of 20 or higher know anything.
Don't forget, there was some information you also had during the last battle whe trying to identify the new badguys.

Zaelos stares at the Empress for a few seconds, recollecting any information he recalled from his political dealings.

"Not much, I am afraid Highness. Judging by his moniker, he was also trained in the Jedi arts. Since your Father expressedly forbade training in the Jedi ways, my only conclusion is he trained or studied in secret."

I am taking the liberty of rolling for you for Mirianna's next questions. Saves time.

Mirianna nods. "Darth Vader? Now that makes sense. I had heard Darth Vader may be plotting against my father. So he's human, a member of the old council of the jedi, and potentially was Vader's apprentice. That does coincide with much of the information Tavoes managed to gather." Palpetine looks to Tavoes.

Tavoes breathes a heavy sigh. "Nothing is solid M'lady. Before we can plan further action we need more hard information on these unknown enemies veing for your father's throne. The obvious warlords, moffs, and former Senators are easy to find tactical information on but characters like This Darth Taintus, even Adam Cortel and Seth Segariss is scarce at best. We have so little support and these three secret agents of the empire seem to have an advantage on us and the rest of the galaxy."

Mirianna rolls her eyes and looks back at you four. "Tavoes may be a tactical genius but he doesn't seem to understand that I am losing control by the day. In order to start moving forward he needs information on the following contenders. Darth Taintus we have discussed. Then there is an Admiral Adam Cortel and some other secret usurper named Seth Segariss. If you know anything on any of them share it now."

Zaelos clears his throat. "Yes, MiLady I do have some knowledge of the individuals you mentioned. Adam Cortel was the leading researcher in developing new technology to be used against the Jedi. One of the weapons he used is called Yslamiri which he did his best to corner the market on their trade in the galaxy. Though he bought in bulk, the product had never been seen again in any recognizable form. The usual case quantities were estimated to be in the tens of thousands per monthly shipment. This went on until he disappeared 4 years ago." He pauses for a moment to give her time to digest the information then continues, "The Cortels hail from a prestigious family line of politicians from Chandrila. Their family faction sided with the emperor during his reorganization of the republic into the empire. They also actively hunted the Mothma family during the civil war due to being a rival family and siding with the rebellion. Adam was their second son and their only child who did not go into some form of politics." Again he pauses for a moment. "Seth Segariss...I heard that Ronwald Segariss, Seth's father helped the emperor establish himself. Supposedly Ronwald was involved in a plot to assassinate the emperor and steal his throne. He was arrested and executed for his "crimes" which the evidencr was never presented to the Imperial Senate. The course caused quite an uproar and after settle the disturbance, the emperor announced the the entire Segariss family were working together and needed to be hunted down and arrested. Oldest son Seth evaded capture for twelve years and had disappeared forever four years ago. Or so was the belief."

Zaelos looks to his companions briefly before he looks at Mirianna. "MiLady, I find it hard to believe it was a coincidence both of these men disappeared at the same time. It is possible they could be in league with each other."

Slowly nodding as Zaleos speaks; "Yes, I heard of the Cortel family. We were at a Ball with some of them; it was tragic what happened to them. Dying in a rebel attack on Chandrila like that. Of course it was said Adam escaped, not to be seen from. That was what 6 years ago." Krval ponders.

"It was a scandal that he took up science wasn't it?" he says looking to the Empress and Zaleos. "Especially the science of the force, that combined with his interest in armaments. That raises some queries with Darth Taintus and his identity."

A ripple of shock goes through his body; "Cortel's sister, she was taken to the jedi temple. Force powers generally run in families?" he looks round for confirmation. "So Cortel could have the ability to use the force and hates and studies the force." he concludes solemnly.

"Well, this Seth guy was a big criminal or something. Tried to kill the Emperor. Hard guy to hold seeing as he broke out of three prisons and blew one up. I heard he disappeared six years ago after a raid on a fortress on Dessiar. Personally, most of the crimes seemed to be hyped up."

Nichos just frowns as he listens to what the others have to say. "I'm afraid these folks are outside of my range of knowledge, but it sounds like a rather dangerous bunch. Great discretion will be needed in dealing with them." The last bit is as much for himself as is it for anyone else in the room.

Karval nods at Nichos true statement; "So we have Darth Taintus, a Jedi like Vader who commands 'Special' troopers. Adam Cortel, a scientist, who hates Jedi and was a commander in the Navy with anti-Force weapons. And Seth a potential assassin and escape artist." Karval ponders.

He stands tall to attention, "We need more information on them, their capabilities and their location. Where to start, well Cortel with his Naval career or home-planet may give some information."

Messed up my info horribly. Here is the correction. Cortel disappeared 4 years ago and Seth 6 years ago. It is consistant, I just got my info jumbled and didn't proof read :P

Most of you think you hear a smirk from Tavoes as Miranna's expression turns sour. She glares over at Tavoes with her ice cold stare. He is grining from ear to ear seeming unphased the the mighty empress's chilling gaze.

In frustration she throws her hands in the air. "Fine Tavoes! We'll do it your way. You brief them. This is why I recruited you after all." With the Mirianna leave in a bit of huff.

It is strange to see your empress behave this way. Only now do you realize how young she really is.

Tavoes sighs. "The lady and I have been arguing for some time about how to proceed. She wants to move in and start hunting our enemies. We have to little information on the new threats that have shown themselves recently. I want reconisense first. Information gathering. Only when we know their strengths and weaknesses can we strikes with certainty of victory. It was poor intel that lost the battle of Kuat after all. We didn't even know who Darth Taintus was before that battle." He gestures to follw. "Come. The lady's bedroom hardly seems the appropriate place to dicuss tactics and missions."

Tavoes heads out of the chambers and you follow.

Post any thoughts, banter, questions you may have. Once everyone has posted at least once I will continue.

He gives a bow as the Empress leaves; 'Oh, I didn't mean to undermine her position.' Karval watches her go with even more respect. 'So young, but not fragile. The power and responsibility must add a decade to her appearance.'

He turns to the leader; "Commander Tavoes, you probably haven't met the right women then..." you cannot be sure if his words are meant to be serious or not.

He moves after the Commander, "Of course, we must work to our strengths and act swiftly."

Zaelos notes the actions of the departing Empress with a touch of trepidation. She must realize while SHE is the Empress, the title means nothing without those who work for her. Perhaps she will grow to realize that.

In response to Me'eona he simply smiles, "At least I am aware of your presence now. Still I would say the Force works in mysterious ways, right?"

"She may be young, but she is at least wise enough even now to understand when to concede to her advisers. That is a good start. Let us leave her bedroom to her; she deserves respect, even if she doesn't have to like everything she hears."

Turning from Zaleos to Me'eona; 'His fathers' estate? He nicked some land? How do you steal land?' He slowly walks back out of the room with a quick look where the Empress departed. "Aye, best keep this on target I suppose."

As they walk he adds; "Do you think espionage is our best bet or another infiltration? Getting information is usually difficult, not that I am an expert in things."

The empress has a lot of political experience but no military experience. That is why she hired me. I came to work for her because she has insight and ideas that I believe could rebuild the furture of the empire. That is why I support her."

You guys work your way to a private really nice briefing room located nearby. The four of you take your seats and wait.

Tavoes stands by the projector images of planets appear.
"Okay so we need information on the three mysterious threats. Seth Segariss, Admiral Adam Cortel, and Darth Taintus. The most important would be Taintus because he is currently the most active and threatening. Over the past hour he has already engaged thirteen systems." Three planets zoom in. Tavoes gestures. "This is Vjun, Curuscant, and Korriban. I believe these are places to find information of Darth Taintus." The three planets zoom out and three zoom in again, Curoscant is among them again. "Here is Chandrila, Carida, and again Curoscant. These are the best places to to learn more about Adam Cortel." the planets zoom out again. Three more zoom in and yet again Curoscant is among them. "Here we have Naboo, Kessel, and Curoscant. These places would have information on Seth Segariss." The planets zoom out again and Curoscant alone zooms in. "Curoscant has the highest likely hood of information. The problem is the information will be extremely hard to find. Especially since the planet is a warzone for more than one of our advasaries." The Planet zooms out. "Now, you are the specialists and you know your abilities best. So I will allow you to pick where your information gathering will start." He waits for your response.

Karval having taken a perch on the briefing seats, whilst tapping notes on the pad. "So, Taintus will be hard to find anything about currently with his destructive current campaign. Militarilly it is quite hard to find out information; especially about on-going secret plans."

"Cortel, we could locate the Scientist colleagues that worked on the weapons with him. Alternatively we could talk to people whom served under the Emperor beside him. Find out his quirks, likes and dis-likes." Karval continues.

"Seth Segariss, well we would be best trying to contact the criminal underworld and see if they know anything about him. The Hutts or the Dark Sun or whatever they call themselves, they could give us some information... although it would not be too cheap. Segariss' father would have needed to have some capital to help Emperor Palpatine, therefore either nobility, criminality or legal businesses. Which may give us an idea of who Seth is."

"Corusant, as ex-home of the Senate could be a good place to start." Karval concludes.

"Karval brings up several good points. I agree with him on starting our search at Coruscant." Zaelos nods in agreement, "One thing which does concern me is the time it will take to dig up this information. Even with calling in a few favors...it will take time to sift through the information, time I am not sure we have."

"While I agree with most of Karvel's assessment, I think we would be better off not starting on Coruscant. As much as I understand the need to find out about all three men, it would probably be better to pick one, and focus on him for the time being. Start on a relatively isolated planet to get basic information we can then take to Coruscant and get further details there while keeping our ears open for information on the others. I'm inclined to go with Cortel, so Chandrila, where he disappeared, would be my vote. The others are dangerous, but we lack the contacts in the underworld necessary to counter any actions by Seth as yet, and Taintus is already acting in the open, so we at least know his motives and basic goals. Also, with Taintus, it is too late to prevent action, whereas the other two have yet to act openly, and may yet be prevented from doing so. Cortel, we know neither location, motives, or goals, and that makes him the biggest question mark of the three. Along the way of investigating him, we can start to build up the contacts necessary to find out about Seth, and hopefully build up some pressure on Taintus to force him to change his plans enough to give the empress an opening on the political front."

He inclines his head and slowy nods; "Also if Cortel has created a anti-force weapon then it could be used against Taintus. And if we could get some more knowledge about that ancient lore and it's capabilities we would know it's limitations."

"I do have some old Hutt contact's but they are probably out-dated. However I do speak the language." his voice low and calculated.

Zaelos pauses as the wisdom of the Chiss' words ring true. "Actually, Nichos brings up good points as well. One thing to keep in mind is one or more of them may secretly be in league together. Traveling to Chandrilla would be a good place to start our investigation."

"A hungry Hutt have short memories, excepting for money." Karval recites an ancient proverb. He recalls his homeland and the Hutt clan's that dominated the planet and a slow shiver of aprehension rolls down his spine. However a slight force of will strengthens his resolve.

He smiles remembering his teen years; "No, a few one some money betting on me, whilst others lost some. However truer words are rarely spoken, taking a loan from a Hutt is asking for pain." he grimly replies.

Tavoes straightens up. The image of Chandrila zooms in. Three speific points light up. "Chandrila is currently ruled by the, "rebels". But Moff Seerdon is trying hard to retake the planet. It is currently under siege by the Moff. We can fit your gunship with a code that will get you through the imperial blockade. Once you land planet side, there are three places you can vivsit for info are." Each spot zooms in further to give you a better view as Tavoes talks about them. "Here we have the main Chandrilian House. This is the most prominent location to gain information. Then we have the Laboratory where Cortel did most of his research. It is currently under the control of the rebels right now. You may have some resistance trying to get in. Last we have the Cortel house. Rival families have demanded that the government not change anything within the home until someone can claim it. However, since the rebel takeover, it has been largely left alone and forgotten. It will likely be the easiest place to start. So, is this the mission you want? It is the easiest to move around in. The risk of this one is that there are a lot of factions that may have already removed relevant information from this place. Nothing is protected or secure. It is highly possible you will arrive and leave empty handed. Are you sure this is the mission you wish to accept?" He awaits your confirmation.

"If they have removed it, then they still would have left some kind of trail. It might take a bit longer, but that is where the trail went cold, and that is the best place to try to pick it up. Even if we don't pick up all the information, we can still probably pick up enough to give ourselves a head start on Coruscant, and shouldn't attract too much unwanted attention in the process."